Together We Stand
by To Be The One
Summary: When does a person lose their meaning? When they have nothing left to fight for. When does a person lose something to fight for? When they have no one to save them from the engulfing darkness. She saved him from the dark...it's his turn to return the favor.


Together We Stand

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not, I repeat, I do not own Naruto or Yugioh. No matter how much I want to._

"Speaking"

'_Thoughts'_

**Raging Voice**

**A/N: **_HI guys. I've sorta hit a wall with my inspiration train, so Advent of the Gods is going to be in a short period of stoppage. It takes a lot of time to plan out and make the effective and exciting duels I need with some cards. I have to watch the GX series again and build an effective strategy with each duel since I have two new characters in the mix, plus I kinda forgot the story line. So to not disappoint those who like it so much, I am writing one for Naruto and the original Yugioh. I am much more familiar with this storyline than GX so updates will be faster. Thank you for your time. And for those who like my stories and are hopefully following me, the others will be updated in a few more weeks._

Chapter: Prologue

"Is there anything I can do to help you? Please tell me. I want to help you."

The person being addressed was a beautiful 15 year-old girl. She wore plain pink pajamas as she sat on the large hospital bed, just conversing with the young man sitting on the same bed as her. She was of short stature, only being 5'5" in height, but she more than made up for it with her upbeat attitude and bigger-than-life personality. Flowing auburn hair trailed down to her mid-back as she gazed up at the speaker with her gorgeous greenish-brown eyes full of mirth and adoration. The young woman reached out with her small hand to affectionately stroke the tanned cheek of the boy who had done so much for her these past few years. A radiant smile made its way onto her face as she gazed at her beau's handsome features.

"You make it sound like I'm going to die. It, it may be hard at first, but I can learn to love you without my sight. We'll be okay. Unless, you don't think you can like me without my eyes?"

Her companion grew wide-eyed at that last remark and frantically shook his head, causing his golden hair to shake freely back and forth.

"Don't ever say something like that. I have loved you since we were eight. I could never judge you on your flaws…not after you looked past my own."

Serenity Wheeler pouted at her boyfriend's troubled look and bent forward so she could brush her dainty lips against his. What had started as a chaste kiss, turned into a wild and passionate lip-lock as the two lovers hungrily mashed their lips together in desperation and want for each other. After a minute of the heat-filled make-out session, the two finally separated as the need for air finally caught up to them. They kept their foreheads touching as they stared deeply into each others eyes.

"Don't. Don't do that to yourself." She placed her hands on opposite sides of his face so that she could stare into his eyes. "We have been over this. You are a good man. Don't let anyone say otherwise."

He smiled at her innocent outlook on life How could anyone so pure exist? For the first time since he had been there, he reached out with his surprisingly soft hands to caress her beautiful skin. He chuckled at her response. Even after they had gotten past the touching phase of their relationship, though not too far, she still found it in her to blush whenever he made an affectionate gesture.

"This proves my theory."

She tilted her head in a confused manner which made him inwardly squeal. _'Kawaii!'_

"What theory are you talking about? And since when have you started to make theories?"

He gave an offended expression.

"Are you implying that I am not intellectual enough to think for myself and ask the questions of life?" He threw up his left hand and placed it against his forehead as he exaggeratedly swooned in discomfort. "Oh woe is me if thou do not think I am as smart as thy beautiful mistress."

Serenity broke out into a fit of giggles. _'Geez. Why do you have to be so adorable?'_

"But seriously, what theory are we talking about here?"

He gave her a sad smile.

"Theory #417: the sweetest and most considerate of people get the worst of luck." They both grew solemn at the reminder of their predicament. Not liking the silence of the situation, the boy put his thumb and pointer finger under Serenity's chin to bring up her head. When she gave him a curious gaze, he lent down and kissed her gently.

Serenity melted into the gentle touch of her boyfriend's lips. Never did she think that the boy she met seven years ago would turn into such a gentle and kind-hearted person. They separated once more and lost themselves in their shared moment of tenderness.

Serenity broke eye-contact first as she turned to glance at the bright day the area her hospital was provided her. She turned back to look at her companion, his wonderful multi-blued eyes piercing her very being as her breath hitched. She had to distract herself; otherwise she would not be able to keep her hands off of him.

An idea soon popped into her head as the boy in front of her tilted his head in confusion at her sudden change in attitude. Her hands moved swiftly as she grabbed the video camera on her bedside desk, before she handed it to him.

"If you want to help me, record my message to Joey."

***-Line Break-***

The young man from before glared at the hospital ceiling, while Serenity snuggled further into his torso in her deep sleep. He did not like the way she had spoken her message to her brother. It sounded like she was giving up! He could not allow that. _'Please, if anyone truly is up there, please give me a chance to save her. I admit my faults and take responsibility for every mistake I have made, but do not take it out on her.' _He felt lost. Was there anyway to save this beautiful girl?

He did not know what had compelled him, but his gaze soon turned in the direction of the box he had received and opened earlier that week. _'…*sigh* there are worse options out there.'_ Slowly, as not to wake up his girlfriend, he got out of the large hospital bed, slipped on his shoes, and tip-toed to the box.

For a while, the man with the blue eyes just stared at the box. The background melted out of his perception where soon the only thing that mattered to him was laying on the tiled-floor of the cold hospital room. With shaky hands, he reached for it. He opened it, and looked at its contents: a glove with a strange metal ring around the wrist portion that had ten star-like grooves in it (two of which were already filled in), as well as five Duel Monsters cards. Four were of little importance to him. One was blank while the other three had pictures of the very same glove that came with the box, a cruise ship, and a map of an island. The reason that he hadn't granted an intense look to the four was because of the last card. It depicted gold items in abundance. "The Glory of the King's Hand": a card which gave the opportunity to win $3,000,000. It was enough money to pay for Serenity's surgery.

He glanced back at said girl before looking down at the box once more, an inner dilemma rearing its ugly head to the forefront of his mind. _'I made a vow. …Can I truly go back to that life-style again?' _Another glance to the girl, who had become so important to him, answered the question with a firm resounding answer. _'…She's worth facing the demons that come with this decision.' _

The silhouette of the boy stood with a firm and rigid posture before making its way to the table in the corner and scribbling on a piece of paper. After he was done writing, he headed towards the bedside of his girl and placed it in a way so that it would be the first thing she saw. A small snuffle brought his attention back to the sleeping beauty. Smiling softly, he bent down and kissed her forehead, just a soft brushing of his lips. As he straightened out he gave a chuckle as the girl gave a bright smile and a content sigh. He returned a small smile to the sleeping girl before his eyes hardened, all humor fled from them. He then strode to the door of the room and exited with a quiet *click* of the door.

***-Line Break-***

An hour later, in a large manorial cemetery near the mansion of his birth, the blonde enigma found himself staring down at the burial site of his dreaded past. He winced as the awful memories made their way back to the surface of his cerebral cortex. The memories almost tempted him away from the site, but the picture of his beloved stirred those memories away from his mind. With a now clear mind, he returned his gaze to the object of his ire.

There, implanted deeply into the earth, tarnished by the many years that had passed, taunting him with a forbidden past stood a crystal totem carved with images depicting nine large beasts of legend; squandering about with only his shaking hands telling him that he really was back to this accursed sight. The blue-eyed man repressed those memories away before kneeling down with conviction, and started to dig.

With each plunge into the cool damp earth came many instances he had longed to forget, but for the sake of his Serenity, he would uncover these burdens, and take them on once more.

After thirty more minutes, he stood and shed many tears of sorrow as he finally uncovered what he had tried to bury many years ago.

An ornate box of ebony wood and many gold depictions, of the same creatures that the totem that now resided in his left hand displayed, laid in dark contrast with the dark earth that had once settled over it. Strangely enough, it had not rotted in the slightest over the past nine years. He knew that was no coincidence.

With a heavy heart, he bent down again to retrieve the box from the ground, and held it tenderly to his chest as he knelt down into the cool dark earth of his family's manor grounds. Shaking, he moved the box away from him, and started to tenderly lift up the lid of the box.

Once fully opened, a bright light of many colors illuminated the darkness around him before his mind went to black.

***-Mindscape-***

_He stood in an empty, dark, and plain room, waiting for…something. Nine furious roars sounded in the distance. He sighed. _'It's time to face my past.'_ With that said he turned himself to face a dark tunnel that formed, and started to trek to the source of the sounds. _

_He walked for a good amount of time, and with each step taken, he felt his heart plummet into his stomach further and further until he was almost certain that it would fall into the pool of corrosive acid that lied in his stomach. _'I wonder how much time has passed. Will they still be angry? Of course they will you stupid boy! How can I ask them of this? Kami, I hope they're in a decent mood right now. I-huh?' _It wasn't until he felt himself no longer walking that he shook himself out of his trance._

_The blonde-haired man found himself in the middle of an intricate spiral with strange wave-like patterns, nine of them to be exact, surging towards to the center where he stood. Each originated from strange kanji that were at the end of them, each glowing with a different color of power. To any other person, they would look like chicken scratch, but he could read them easily and knew what they stood for: the first nine numbers that any culture in history possessed. He looked around in confusion before a melodic voice sounded from the kanji that stood for Two as it started to glow with urethral-blue flames._

"_**We know what you are thinking, and we aren't revealing ourselves to you because you do not deserve our help."**_

_He winced, but he of course knew that a reaction like this was highly predictable and well-deserved._

"_I, I know that we've had some differences, but I came here for a good cause." He heard several mocking chuckles among the kanji, before turning curiously to the ninth. Why was he silent? Reminding himself of why he was there, he gathered his wits to present his case to the nine titans. "Please, I need you guys to hear me out."_

_The kanji that represented One shined brightly with a sandy-brown color before a slightly deranged male voice shouted out with barking laughter._

"_**Hahaha! WHY THE HELL SHOULD WE HEAR YOU OUT!? DO YOU NOT REMEMBER HOW WE HAD FOUGHT FOR YOU!? DO YOU NOT REMEMBER HOW WE HAD KEPT YOU COMPANY!? …Do you…do you not remember the promise we all made with each other? How…how…how we would look after each other?**_

_This drew a shocked reaction from the man as he heard the insane voice suddenly shrink into a deeply hurt and rejected tone he had never heard the entity use before._

"_I…I have never forgotten. I remember exactly what I promised you all, and how…deeply I hurt you…" He was soon cut off when all other kanji, except for the one that stood for Nine, started to glow and roar at him._

"_**YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW WE FEEL!"**_

"_**YOU BETRAYED US, AND FOR WHAT, A HUMAN THAT DIDN'T EVEN LIKE YOU!?"**_

"_**YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO ASK US OF ANYTHING!"**_

"_**GO AWAY!"**_

_The voices soon grew in intensity and volume while the words grew harsher and harsher. It was too much. He closed his eyes in preparation for the inevitable blast that would utterly destroy him. _'I'm sorry Serenity.'

"_**!"**_

_Suddenly, the ninth kanji let out a calming pulse of energy that quieted down all others. The young 16 year-old turned to the ninth kanji in curiosity. What had he to say?_

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…_**Is she precious to you?"**_

_The boy blinked._

"…_She is."_

"…_**I have heard that line before." **__The boy winced at the reminder of his mistakes. "__**…Does she truly, and I mean honest to Kami, truly care for you?" **__The voice paused at this.__** "…Think carefully before you answer my question, 'cause if not, I will make sure you will cease to exist, and scatter the remains to the wind."**_

"…_I am pretty sure that she does…" Even he had to grimace at his uncertainty. 'That was lame.'_

"…_**That is not a definitive answer whelp. I will ask one more time, and if you don't have an answer…well, I am certain that you know what will happen if I don't have a definitive answer."**_

_He gulped with apprehension at this. Did she truly like him? Was he going to make the same mistake he made like last time? A sudden memory burst out of his mind as he suddenly remembered all the times her face brightened up at the sight of him for all these years. How she had comforted him when he woke up screaming. And how she had tenderly kissed him, accepting him, when he told her everything about him, good and bad._

_Not even _**she**_ had been that genuine. With a sudden change in his heart, to which all of those around him felt, he spoke to the final and most powerful voice without a single note of fear laden in his voice._

"_I know that she loves me." At his answer, the eighth kanji spoke out in an unconvinced tone of voice._

"_**That's good and all, but why should we help you? What gives you the right to ask us of anything?"**_

_Murmurs of agreement spoke out all around the boy. It would have escalated, but yet again the most powerful being there tempered them into control. His powerful voice then continued the thoughts of his brethren._

"_**That is enough." **__If he had a face to look at, then the man was certain that the eyes of the titan would've been on him. "__**You have garnered our interest. Now it is up to you to see that we agree." **_

_His heavy breathing was all that sounded out in the silence that followed the heavy and important phrase. How could he persuade their help? Well, he was never one for planning, so he did the only thing that he was truly good at: he spoke._

"_I have made…a lot of mistakes. And it was not only I that had to pay for all of it, but you guys as well. Normally, I would say that I was naïve, I was tricked, I was…" He paused as he started to feel his stomach churn with unease. "…I was in love." All nine kanji growled again but was quickly silenced as the man started to talk again._

"_I…I know that I have wronged you all. And for that I am deeply sorry. Before, in a different lifetime, I would've blamed all of you just because my vanity knew no bounds." Soft chuckles rang out. He smiled at that. "I would've scorned and cursed all of you, just because 'I could do no wrong.'" Thee young man gave a small laugh of disgust at himself. " I have stayed up and have had nightmares about sealing you all away for all these years; years that we should have spent having fun and laughing and just being with one another. But it was because of my gullibility and stupidity that we could not. I know that I have no right to ask you of anything." He spun so he could give each and every kanji a quick glance._

"_Some of you…will be forever scarred for what I did, and I cannot change that." He took a quick glance at the ninth. "No matter how much I wish to do so." He sighed with a truly burdened soul before he spoke with a heavy tone. "But it is not about us right now."_

"_**!?"**_

_He gave a sad smile. He had gotten their full attention._

"_She is going blind." He looked all around him, tears welling up in his eyes. "She, who tries to see the good in anybody and anything, is going blind. All because of a, a birth defect, she is now going to be robbed of a true gift that anyone has the right to have. I can save her; I can preserve a gift to the world by going and winning the Duelist Kingdom. I know that this will not atone for my past mistakes to all of you, but please," he knelt down in front of the nine proud beings, "please let me save this one girl's sight so that she does not have to pay for my mistakes, and so that I can make up for mine." _

_He held out his hand. A sign of trust was now needed. _'Please, please give me a chance to save her.'

"_Join me. Join me so that we may grow and love together once more."_

_Silence was all that greeted him. He glanced around to see none of them responding. Head tucked down in shame, he made a move to get up, before a large rumbling stopped him. It was emanating from the ninth kanji. Naruto stared in shock while the other eight kanji roared their protests._

"_**WHAT ARE YOU DOING KURAMA!?"**__ cried out the Seventh._

"_**DO YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE HIM!?" **__the Fourth wailed._

"_**DO NOT REVEAL YOURSELF! HE DOES NO-"**__before his protest could leave his mouth, the Eighth was quieted by a ferocious roar produced by the Ninth._

"_**SILENCE!"**_

_A massive pillar of red energy burst out into life from the kanji, blinding the young man that was still kneeling and had his hand out. The bright light soon receded…and a heavy weight made its way down to touch the young man's._

_The boy looked up with an astonished look etched onto his face, because before him stood a familiar figure. A massive orange furred fox with nine flailing tails and human-like hands towered over him. It had rabbit-like ears with a pitch-black interior to them that connected with a 'mask' which surrounded its eyes. His eyes soon adjusted and he gasped once again. The giant furred-hand of the creature was placed on top of his. He looked up. Blue met Red. The fox then turned to look at the stunned kanji._

"…_**It is true that we were betrayed. It is true that what he did was deceitful and truly horrendous, but we were all taught that it is a natural cycle of life that one makes mistakes." **__He glanced to the stunned kanji. "__**We were all taught this long before we ventured out to the world. We were warned of all the hurt and pain that came with the right to live." **__The titanic fox glanced at the man who had his head down in shame. __**"…There comes a time in life, where those who would be our greatest allies would betray us." **__The symbols started to grow more restless and shined with an unholy amount of power. __**"We cannot lose faith in the good we all know exists in this world. Remember. Remember the times where we were one. We have found a new purpose." **__Sitting up in all of his regal glory, the Kyuubi no Yoko startled everyone with the unrivaled passion in his voice.__** "Brothers, sister, let us join once more. We have been hiding for too long. It's time we return to the world to do our duties." **_

_The fox____let loose a ferocious roar, and like a chain reaction, the rest of the kanji burst into similar, but no less impressive, pillars of light that let loose eight different beings: a sand-covered tanuki with black tribal markings, a cat with a body of blue flames with two tails, a turtle with a gray body and three tails, a great red ape with a high reaching crest on its brow, a five-tailed dolphin horse, a giant six-tailed slug, a tremendous Hercules beetle with one long tail and six wings, and finally an ox-octopus cross with eight massive tails. They all produced their respective appendages and placed it in one unified manner. A bright light emanated from within the collective unit of their hands. _

"_**But know this…" **__They all glanced at the lone man standing in the midst of these titans. __**"Should you desert us once more…we won't hesitate to end all that is precious to you. Do you understand?"**_

_At the nod of the man's head, all nine sentinels roared out with their head's held high._

"_**TOGETHER WE STAND!"**_

_And with that, a luminous aura surrounded each of them with a blanket of warm energy and all turned to white._

***-Real World-***

The man opened his blue eyes and stood up with a startled gasp. Was that all a dream? A familiar weight in his left hand told him otherwise. He glanced down and saw a deck of forty cards with nine familiar presences once again in his mind. He smirked and turned to the rising sun.

"…I'm going to win…because together we stand."

***-Hospital-***

Serenity woke up with a start. Her boyfriend's warmth was no longer with her. Worried, she quickly sat up, noting that her vision was even worse than before. Yet she still took a look around the room. Her blurry vision landed on the box that had arrived for her boyfriend a while ago. Standing up, Serenity briskly made her way to the box. She sighed as she saw that the box was now emptied. _'Tsk, figures.' _Yet this gave her an elated feeling. _'He did say he would do anything. I just wish that it hadn't needed to come to this.'_

As she was climbing back into her hospital bed, she glanced at her bedside desk. A flutter of paper caught her attention as she reached out for the sheet of paper on her desk. It was a letter! She hurriedly opened it and noticed that it was rather short. He must've been in a rush.

_Dear Serenity,_

_ If you hadn't already noticed, I have ignored all of your protests and have gone to Duelist Kingdom to win the prize money. I won't have you go blind. You truly deserve the best in life and I know that I can do this. It is not that I won't be satisfied with you if you had lost your sight, but I think that one that can see the good in anything deserves the gift that all of us are given. So please, believe in me. Believe that I can win this. And always remember that I will always be there with you for anything. I'll be back before you can even say my name._

_From,_

_Your Loving Boyfriend._

He wasn't here for her now she noted sadly, but she took solace that the only reason he wasn't here was to save her. _'I rather he was here.' _She clutched the letter to her chest as her vision started to blur. When it had reached the peak of where it was almost gone, she smiled sadly and whispered out:

"Naruto."

And with that, her vision went to black.

**A/N: **_Hope you like it. I changed and added a few things. Review._


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